


Floral & Fading

by lothrat



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Kylo Ren Redemption, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 20:18:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13220448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lothrat/pseuds/lothrat
Summary: She didn't have a name.At least, she didn't remember it, everyone just called her Smidge. Not that it mattered, her life on Lothal was unimportant enough. Of course, nothing in this galaxy can stay the same.





	Floral & Fading

_She felt it. The fire, the flames. She felt them as if they were lapping at her face. She could feel the pain... the lives lost around her. The darkness. Fear. Anger... She wanted to hide; to scream... but nothing came out. What was this place? Why was it so quiet? The towering building in front of her, larger than smudge had seen before, crumbled to the ground silently. Finally succumbing to the wrath of the fire._

The beeps of a droid broke the silence. In the distance she could see a man, leaning a hand on his robotic companion. An R2 unit? Who is he? She stepped forward in an attempt to get closer, but to no avail. The ground opened up below her and with a scream, she fell for what seemed like hours but in reality was only seconds before hitting the solid ground.

A groan escaped her lips as she opened her eyes and glanced around; expecting to see the flames again, but she didn't. It was the same dream that came to her in different intervals of time, although it felt so real. She had dealt with visions before, but this seemed so different. Normally her visions only pertained to people she knew, and she doubted very much that Old Man Bridger was the man in her dream. She also doubted very much that Lothal would have any sort of building like the ones in her dream. Regardless, she couldn't stop what was going to happen if it really was a vision... Right? The old man always said that "the Force works in mysterious ways." So surely, she would be better off continuing like the dream never happened... Right?

Her logic seemed sound enough, but she still couldn't shake the feeling of guilt... And the feeling of death around her.

"Smidge? Are you up?" Bridger's aged voice echoed through the small home they shared, "I gathered up some breakfast, hurry up if you plan on training at all today!"

"Yeah yeah, I'm awake! Gimme a minute!"

 

••••••

"You're unfocused today."

" Sorry, sir. I-" Smidge paused, pondering the idea of sharing the vision, "I've had a recurring dream for a while, but... This one wasn't like the others. I don't know why, but it keeps replaying in my head."

Ezra could sense the hesitation in his Padawan (for lack of better words; he was no Jedi master, but no other monikers seemed to fit their unique arrangement) and met it with an understanding gaze, "The Force works in mysterious ways, Smidge. What was this vision, if I may ask?"

"It's hard to describe... It was a place I've never seen before. There were these buildings bigger than anything I've ever seen, but they were crumbling and burning. I could feel the flames, I could feel... Death. And, there was a man, at least, from what I could tell. He was a droid, an R2 unit. I could feel his despair but when I tried to step closer I fell into nothing. Bridger, I know I've had visions before but nothing like that one. I've tried so hard over the years to push it away but it still returns, and it feels just as real every time."

" ... It's best not to dwell on visions, " Ezra's face shifted, his expression unreadable, "what happens must happen. We can't change the future, but we can live in the moment. Why don't we take today to rest? The sun does seem awfully unforgiving today, eh?"

Smidge nodded, rising from her position on the ground. She dusted the dirt off of her overalls before offering a hand to Ezra, "Sounds like a plan, sir."

He chuckled, "I'm not that old, ya know? I guess i can fault you for manners though," regardless he accepted the assistance, "that's not a common trait for Loth Rats like us."

Smidge's face took on a noticeably red hue, "Sorry, sorry! I just like being helpful, ya know?"

Ezra nodded as the pair started their trek back into the city. The fields of Lothal were dry, and now mostly barren. After the empire fell, their presence in Lothal dissipated but the abuse of his home planet was still obvious. Not much grew already in the stubborn soil but The Empire's overgrowing during their occupation took its toll and left most of the growable areas stripped of nutrients. The planet now largely relied on traders passing through, and what little the resistance could offer in aid, with the galaxy now at war again.

_The Republic, The Separatist... Rebels, Empire, Resistance, First Order....it's all the same just a different name._ Ezra thought to himself, thinking back on the days when he knew nothing of the Jedi, nothing of the inner workings of war. He thought back to the days when he had no one to worry about but himself. He remembered the first time he met his group of rebels, Kanan, Hera, Sabine, Zeb... He missed them all. Sabine still contacted him periodically, however with Mandalore's numbers growing slimmer they took to hiding. Zeb went home, and Ezra saw no reason to drag him out of the neutral territory. Here went on with the rebellion, and as far as he knows still aids the resistance from time to time but has mostly stepped away from piloting in her older age. And Kanan... His master, Ezra did not know for certain what became of him. Most believe he died at the hands of Thrawn, but Ezra didn't believe it. Shortly after their last run in both The Jedi and Chiss were missing, nothing was ever found of either.

_It's also best to not dwell on the past._ He reminded himself, _There's an awakening in The Force, I can feel it... Smidge can too, but she doesn't know. She saw Luke's temple... Is her memory returning? I should alert General Organa._

He watched her silently as they reached the threshold of the city, and for once, he wished that he didn't have to keep her so blind to The Force. He was to train her as self-defense, nothing more. Luke had brought here to Lothal, much off the radar, shortly after his school was destroyed. She remembered nothing, not even her name. For her safety, they felt it best to stay that way. It's much easier to hide someone from The First Order when they don't really know they're in hiding.

"Do you need any help with housework today, sir?" Smidge paused, spotting the familiar face of Loden Jarien, "if not, I may spend some time with a friend?"

Ezra smiled at her naivety, "go ahead, I have no plans."

She nodded before taking off towards the boy, and Ezra wished things could remain like this forever. But he knew it never could, and The Force would will them in their own directions. It was just a matter of when.

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY! So this is my first fic/writing anything in actual years. Updates will probably be slow, around once a week. I'll be adding more tags as the story progresses! Title credit to the song "Floral & Fading" by Pierce The Veil!


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